Global & Strategic Perspective for Cultural Tourism

Globalization engenders two trends that increase the demand for, as well as supply of, cultural tourism. One such trend is rapid urbanization, which in turn emaciates community fabric and makes people wanting to cultivate humanitarian bonds. The other trend is the geographical expansion of human interaction, which in turn helps people become aware of cultural diversity, and promotes their interest in different cultural traditions and practices. The global espousal of free-market capitalism tends to encourage exploitation of existing cultural heritage and assets, and the increase in demand poses the danger of the tragedy of the commons on such heritage and assets. The prospective strategy for meeting the demand and, at the same time, for minimizing the danger is to localize the systemic management of available cultural resources by the host community. In addition this strategy will help mitigate the economic disparity between urban centers and peripheral areas and, thus, enhance the sustainability of globalization.